Trowel for applying adhesives

ABSTRACT

The trowel is used for spreading adhesives for floor and/or wall coverings. It comprises a handle having a base section, and an integral handgrip. A rhomboidally shaped spreading blade is releasably and reversibly attached to the bottom of the base section, and has serrated edges for spreading adhesive in striated form on a surface. A plurality of spaced slots in the blade are insertable over the heads of a plurality of screws which project from the bottom of the base section. Two of these screws latch the blade in place in either of two different operating positions, when the blade is shifted laterally relative to the handle. A third one of the screws is threadable into a bore in the base section releasably to secure the blade against movement on the handle when the blade is latched in either operating position.

i United States Patent Carder [45] Nov. 4, 1975 TROWEL FOR APPLYING ADHESIVES 651,928 4/1951 United Kingdom 15/2354 Inventor: William E. Carder, po t, N Y. 84,884 4/1920 Switzerland 15/176 [73] Assignee: gfider Industries, Inc., Rochester, P i E i r-Daniel Blum 22 Filed: Jan. 29, 1974 [57] ABSTRACT [21] PP N03 437,658 The trowel is used for spreading adhesives for floor I and/or wall coverings. It comprises a handle having a 52 US. Cl. l5/235.6; 15/235.8' 15/104 s' base Swim, and an integral handgrip- A 403/4: dally shaped spreading blade is releasably and revers- 51 Int. cl. 1105c 11/04 ibly attached to the bottom 0f the base Swim, and [58] Field of Search 15/104 S, 145 176 2354 has serrated edges for spreading adhesive in striated 15/2355, 2358 244 30/318 403/; form on a surface. A plurality of spaced slots in the blade are insertable over the heads of a plurality of [56] References Cited screws which project from the bottom of the base sec- UNITED STATES PATENTS tion. Two of these screws latch the blade in place in either of two different operating positions, when the 893,275 7/1908 Stoddard 403/4 blade is Shifted laterally relative to the handle A third 5,991,232 3132; gall ..t....l ..i.51251 117 one of the Screws is threadable into a bore in the base 2747343 5/1956 :32; 6 Ux section releasably to secure the blade against move- 3 166 776 1/1965 Selck 15/235.6 meht Oh the handle when the blade is latched in either operating position.

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 319,928 4/1920 Germany 30/339 6 Chums 4 Drawmg US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 3,916,472

TROWEL FOR APPLYING ADHESIVES This invention relates to hand trowels, and more particularly to trowels of the type that are used to spread an adhesive during the installation of floor and/or wall coverings, and the like.

It is common practice to employ a spreadable adhesive for securing various forms of floor and/or wall coverings to, for example, wooden or cement floors, tile floors, plaster walls, etc. Adhesives of the type described usually are provided in bulk form (for example in gallon cans or the like), and must be spread in thin layers on the surfaces to be covered. For this purpose it is customary to employ a special trowel having a blade with serrated side edges for spreading the adhesive in striated form on the surfaces to be covered.v

A major disadvantage of this type of trowel is that the trowel handle is usually fixed to the blade, so that when the serrated side edges of the spreading blade become unduly worn through repeated use, the trowel is no longer of any value and must be discarded. Moreover, in the case of many such trowels, either because of the shape of the blade and/or the disposition of its handle, an operator may tend to make greater use of one serrated edge than the other, thereby wearing out one edge long before the other. To then have to discard the trowel with one spreading edge hardly used is wasteful.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved trowel of the type described, which will have a substantially longer useful life than prior such trowels. To this end it is an object also to provide this type of a trowel with a replaceable blade so that the handle portion of the trowel can be saved and used repeatedly with new spreading blades.

Another object of this invention is to provide a trowel of the type described that has a reversible handle, so that after one or more edges of the trowel become worn, other edges thereof can be used merely by reversing the position of the handle on the trowel.

Still another object of this invention is to prolong the useful life of a trowel of the type described by providing therefor a rhomboidally-shaped spreading blade which is both reversible and replaceable.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing:

IN THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a hand trowel made in accordance with one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of this trowel with portions thereof broken away and shown in section, and with the alternate position of the trowel handle being shown in phantom by broken lines;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of this trowel with portions thereof shown in section; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawing by numerals of references, denotes generally a trowel handle, and 11 a spreading blade which is releasably and reversibly attached to the handle.

Handle 10, which for example may be an aluminum base portion 12, and a cylindrical hand grip portion 13,

which is attached at its forward end to the base portion 12 by an integral post 14. Post 14 projects from the upper surface of the base section 12 adjacent its foward or left end as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2; and as shown more clearly in FIG. 2, handgrip portion 13 projects rearwardly and slightly upwardly from the post 14 to overlie part of the rear end of base section 12.

The spreading blade 1 l of the trowel comprises a flat, metal plate, which is rhomboidal in configuration. It has spaced, parallel, longitudinally extending side edges 21 and 22 (FIGS. 1 and 3), and parallel end edges 23 and 24. Edges 23 and 24 are inclined to edges 21 and 22 so that edges 21 and 23 form a first pair of operating edges that intersect each other at an acute angle denoted at A in FIG. 1. Edges 22 and 24 of the blade form another pair of operating edges which intersect each other at an acute angle B (FIG. I), which equals angle A. Each of the four edges 21 to 24 of the blade 11 has intermediate its ends a plurality of equispaced notches or serrations 25, which form a plurality of equi-spaced teeth 26 in each edge of the blade.

Intermediate its ends blade 11 has therein four, spaced longitudinally extending slots 35, 36, 37 and 38, each of which has in one end thereof (the left end in FIG. 3) an enlarged, circular opening 31, 32, 33 and 34, respectively. The centers of the openings 31-34 and the notches 35-38 are disposed medially of the side edges 21 and 22 of the blade. Moreover, the two opposed corners 39 formed at the junction of the opening 31 with the slot 35, and the two comers 40 formed at the junction of the opening 34 with the slot 38, are bent or dimpled upwardly (FIGS. 2-4) so that they project slightly above the upper surface of the blade 11 for purposes noted hereinafter.

For removably mounting the. blade 11 on the bottom of the handle 10, the shanks of two mounting screws 42 and 44 are threaded, respectively, through vertical openings 45 and 46 that are formed in base 12 adjacent opposite ends thereof. Two sets of nuts 47 and 48, which are threaded onto the upper ends of screws 42 and 44, are seated against the upper surface of section 12 to fix these screws on the handle with the heads thereof spaced slightly beneath the base section 12.

A further screw 50 is also provided for securing blade 11 against the underside of the handle. The shank of this screw is adapted to extend selectively through one of the notches 36 or 37 in the plate 11, and to thread into a vertical bore 51 formed in the base section 12 beneath the post 14.

To mount the spreader blade 11 in one position on the bottom of the handle 10, for example in the position shown by full lines in thedrawing, the screw 50 is first backed part way out of the bore 51 so that its head is spaced beneath the underside of section 12, as shown for example in FIG. 2. The blade 11 is then positioned beneath the handle with its dimpled portions 39 and 40 facing upwardly, and with its openings 31, 32 and 34 registering with the heads of the screws 42, 50 and 44, respectively. These openings are slightly larger in diameter than the heads of the registering screws 42, S0 and 44, so that the blade 11 can be forced over the heads of the screws and against the underside of base section 12. The entire blade 11 is then shifted slightly toward the foward end of the handle (toward the left in FIG. 2) until the heads of the screws 42, 50 and 44 register with the narrow slots 35, 36 and 38, respectively, in the blade. The heads of the screws, which are larger in diameter than the slots 35, 36 and 38, then prevent the blade 11 from dropping downwardly off the handle 10. Moreover, the heads of the screws 42 and 44 are spaced beneath the underside of the base section 12 a distance less than the distance each of the dimpled portions 39 and 40 of the blade is bent upwardly out of the plane of the blade. Consequently, when the blade is shifted to engage its slots 35 and 38 around the shanks of the screws 42 and 44, the dimpled portions 39 and 40 are flexed or forced into resilient engagement with the underside of the base section 12 (FIG. 4), thereby urging opposite ends of the blade 11 resiliently against the heads of the screws 42 and 44 to hold the ends of the blade against vertical movement relative to base section 12.

After the blade has been shifted into a latched or operating position on the handle, the blade is fixed against longitudinal movement on section 12 by tightening screw 50 until its head, which now overlies the narrow slot 36 in the blade, forces the center section of the blade 11 snugly against the underside of the base section. (In FIG. 2 the screw 50, it will be understood, is shown as it appears at the time that blade 11 is inserted onto, or withdrawn from, the handle and it will be apparent that, in order to secure the blade against longitudinal sliding movement relative to the handle, the screw 50 must be threaded further into the bore 51.)

After blade 11 has been locked in its operating position on the handle 10, the operator may use the edges 21 and 23 of the trowel, when applying adhesive to a surface. Edges 22 and 24 normally are not utilized by the operator when the handle 10 is in this position.

When the serrated edges 21 and 23 become unduly worn, the handle 10 of the trowel can be reversed in order that the operator may utilize the other pair of operating edges 22 and 24. To do this, the screw 50 is first backed off or unscrewed slightly from the bore 51 so that the blade 11 may be shifted slightly to the right from its position as illustrated in FIG. 2, thereby allowing the heads of the screws 42, 50 and 44 once again to register with the openings 31, 32 and 34, respectively, in the blade. This allows the screw heads to be withdrawn from the blade 11, after which the handle 10 can be rotated 180 relative to its initial position, or into the broken line position denoted at 10' in FIG. 2. This movement of the handle swings the screws 42, 50 and 44 into new positions in which the heads thereof register with, respectively, the circular openings 34, 33 and 31, respectively, in the blade 11. The blade is then inserted over the heads of the screws and is shifted again slightly to the left to insert the slots 38, 37 and 35 over the shanks of the screws 42, 50 and 44, respectively. This movement, as noted above, causes the dimpled portions 39 and 40 to engage the underside of the base section 12 resiliently to prevent any vertical movement of opposite ends of the blade 11 relative to the handle. The screw 50 is then again tightened so that its head engages marginal portions of the blade 11 around the slot 37, thereby securing the blade snugly against the underside of the base section 12 to prevent it from shifting laterally or longitudinally of the base section, when in use.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the instant invention provides relatively simple and inexpensive means for prolonging the useful life of a trowel of the type described. By using the fixed mounting screws 42 and 44 and the removable fastening screw 50, the trowel handle 10 is provided with a spreader or wiper blade 11 which is reversible to afford usage of both 4 pairs of operating edges defining the angles A and B, respectively, and is replaceable in the event that both pairs of operating edges become worn out. A further advantage of this construction is that it is not necessary to discard the handle portionv 10 each time all four edges of the blade 11 have worn out. Instead, a worn balde 11 can be replaced by an identical blade; or, if desired, it may be replaced by a blade having, for example, differently shaped teeth 26. Moreover, the mounting screws 42 and 44, and the associated dimpled sections 39 and on blade 11 cooperate to provide relatively simple and rapid means for removing and reengaging a blade 11 with the handle 10. With this construction the reversal of handle 10, or the replacement of blade 11, can be effected in a matter of seconds by the operator merely by loosening the screw 50, shifting the blade 1 1 relative to the handle to remove or replace the blade, and then once again tightening the screw 50,

when the blade has been reversed or replaced.

While in the illustrated embodiment, the mounting or latching screws 42 and 44 are removably and adjustably mounted on base section 12, it is apparent that they could be integral with this section, or could be fixed to blade 11 with their heads disposed to be inserted into cooperating latching recesses in the underside of section 12. Moreover, depending upon the overall size of the trowel, it is possible that a single mounting screw 42 or 44 in cooperation with screw could be used for securing the spreading blade releasably and reversibly to the handle.

Although only certain embodiments of this invention have been disclosed herein, it will be apparent that the invention is capable of still further modification, and this application and the appended claims are intended to cover the disclosed embodiments any such modifications thereof as may fall within the scope of one skilled in the art.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A trowel for spreading adhesives and the like, comprising a plate having a pair of spaced side edges for spreading an adhesive material on a surface,

a handle mounted on said plate releasably and selectively in one of two different operating positions in which a handgrip portion thereof overlies opposite ends, respectively, of said plate,

releasable clamping means for fixing said handle against movement relative to said plate, when said handle is in one of its operating positions,

cooperating latching means on said plate and said handle, respectively, engageable releasably to hold said plate on said handle, when said clamping means is released,

said plate and said handle being shiftable relative to each other in opposite directions selectively to effect engagement and disengagement, respectively, of said cooperating latching means, when said clamping means is released,

said latching means comprising at least one pin projecting from one of the confronting surfaces of said plate and said handle, respectively, and into at least one slot formed in the other of said confronting surfaces,

said slot having a narrow portion at one end and an enlarged portion at its opposite end,

said pin having an enlarged head overlying marginal portions of said other surface at said one end of said slot to prevent separation of said confronting surfaces, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, and said head registering with and being passable through said enlarged portion of said slot to permit separation of said confronting surfaces, when said plate and said handle are shifted relative to one another out of an operating position, and

said other confronting surface having portions thereof adjacent the juncture of the narrow and enlarged portions of said slot projecting out of a plane of said slot and operative resiliently to secure said plate between said handle and the head of said pin, when the handle is in one of its operating positions.

2. A trowel as defined in claim 1 wherein said pin projects from the underside of said handle,

said projecting portions of said other surface comprise portions of said plate at opposite sides of said slot bent upwardly out of the plane of said plate to form projections which are urged by the head of said pin resiliently into engagement with the confronting surface on said handle, when said handle is in one of its operating positions.

3. A trowel as defined in claim 2, wherein said handle has an elongate base and said handgrip portion overlies part of said base adjacent one end thereof,

there are two of said pins projecting from said base adjacent opposite ends of the latter,

there are two of said slots in said plate engaged by said pins, when said handle is in either of its operating positions, and

said handle is reversible by withdrawing said two pins from said two slots, when the heads of said pins register with the enlarged ends of said slots, and rotating said handle 180 relative to said plate and reinserting said two pins into said two slots.

4. A trowel for spreading adhesives and the like,

a plate having a pair of spaced, serrated side edges for spreading an adhesive material in striated form on a surface,

a handle for manipulating said plate, and

means for releasably mounting said handle on said plate, and selectively in one of two different operating positions relative to said side edges,

said handle having thereon a handgrip portion disposed to overlie a portion of said plate adjacent one end thereof, when said handle is in one of its two operating positions, and to overlie a portion of said plate adjacent the opposite end thereof, when said handle is in the other of its two operating positions,

said mounting means comprising releasable clamping means for fixing said handle against movement relative to said plate, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, and

cooperating latching means on said plate and said handle, respectively, engageable releasably to hold said plate on said handle, when said clamping means is released,

said plate and said handle being shiftable relative to each other in opposite directions selectively to effect engagement and disengagement, respectively, of said cooperating latching means when said clamping means is released,

said cooperating latching means comprising a plurality of spaced pins projecting from one of the confronting surfaces on said plate and said handle respectively,

the other of said confronting surfaces having therein a plurality of slots disposed to accommodate said pins, when said handle is in one of its operating positions,

each of said pins having thereon an enlarged diameter head engaging opposite sides of the associated slot to hold the plate on said handle,

each of said slots being enlarged at one end thereof to allow the head of said pins to pass therethrough to release said plate from the handle, when the plate and handle are shifted relative to one another in one direction,

said handle having an elongate base and an integral handgrip overlying part of said base adjacent one end thereof,

two of said pins projecting between said plate and said base adjacent opposite ends of the latter and engaging in two of said slots, when said handle is in either of its operating positions,

said handle being reversible by withdrawing said two pins from said two slots, when the heads of said pins register with the enlarged ends of said slots, and rotating said handle relative to said plate and reinserting said two pins into said two slots, and

said clamping means comprising a third pin projecting between said plate and said base to engage in a third slot in said other surface, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, and to engage in a fourth slot in said other surface, when said handle is in its other operating position.

5. A trowel, comprising a plate having opposed side edges for spreading adhesive on a surface,

a handle having an elongate base releasably and reversibly attached to said plate centrally thereof, and having a handgrip overlying part of said base adjacent one end thereof, and

a plurality of pins projecting from the bottom of said base through a plurality of registering slots in said plate,

each of said pins having an enlarged head spaced beneath said base and overlying marginal portions of said plate at opposite sides of the associated slot at one end thereof releasably to secure said plate in an operating position on said base,

each of said slots being enlarged at its opposite end to allow the heads of said pins to be withdrawn from said slots when said plate is shifted in one direction relative to said handle,

said handle being reversible 180 selectively between a first operating position in which two of said pins adjacent opposite ends, respectively, of said base engage in a pair of said slots in said plate, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, and a second operating position in which each of said two pins engages in, respectively, a different one of said pair of slots, and

portions of said plate intermediate the ends of each slot of said pair being bent transverse to the plane of said plate to form, at opposite sides of each slot of said pair, resilient projections which extend into the spaces between said base and the heads of said two pins, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, thereby to resist movement of said plate relative to said handle.

6. A trowel as defined in claim 5, wherein one of said pins comprises a screw threadable into a bore in said base of said handle releasably to secure said handle and said plate against lateral shifting movement relative to each other, when said handle is in one of its operating positions. 

1. A trowel for spreading adhesives and the like, comprising a plate having a pair of spaced side edges for spreading an adhesive material on a surface, a handle mounted on said plate releasably and selectively in one of two different operating positions in which a handgrip portion thereof overlies opposite ends, respectively, of said plate, releasable clamping means for fixing said handle against movement relative to said plate, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, cooperating latching means on said plate and said handle, respectively, engageable releasably to hold said plate on said handle, when said clamping means is released, said plate and said handle being shiftable relative to each other in opposite directions selectively to effect engagement and disengagement, respectively, of said cooperating latching means, when said clamping means is released, said latching means comprising at least one pin projecting from one of the confronting surfaces of said plate and said handle, respectively, and into at least one slot formed in the other of said confronting surfaces, said slot having a narrow portion at one end and an enlarged portion at its opposite end, said pin having an enlarged head overlying marginal portions of said other surface at said one end of said slot to prevent separation of said confronting surfaces, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, and said head registering with and being passable through said enlarged portion of said slot to permit separation of said confronting surfaces, when said plate and said handle are shifted relative to one another out of an operating position, and said other confronting surface having portions thereof adjacent the juncture of the narrow and enlarged portions of said slot projecting out of a plane of said slot and operative resiliently to secure said plate between said handle and the head of said pin, when the handle is in one of its operating positions.
 2. A trowel as defined in claim 1 wherein said pin projects from the underside of said handle, said projecting portions of said other surface comprise portions of said plate at opposite sides of said slot bent upwardly out of the plane of said plate to form projections which are urged by the head of said pin resiliently into engagement with the confronting surface on said handle, when said handle is in one of its operating positions.
 3. A trowel as defined in claim 2, wherein said handle has an elongate base and said handgrip portion overlies part of said base adjacent one end thereof, there are two of said pins projecting from said base adjacent opposite ends of the latter, there are two of said slots in said plate engaged by said pins, when said handle is in either of its operating positions, and said handle is reversible by withdrawing said two pins from said two slots, when the heads of said pins register with the enlarged ends of said slots, and rotating said handle 180* relative to said plate and reinserting said two pins into said two slots.
 4. A trowel for spreading adhesives and the like, comprising a plate having a pair of spaced, serrated side edges for spreading an adhesive material in striated form on a surface, a handle for manipulating said plate, and means for releasably mounting said handle on said plate, and selectively in one of two different operating positions relative to said side edges, said handle having thereon a handgrip portion disposed to overlie a portion of said plate adjacent one end thereof, when said handle is in one of its two operating positions, and to overlie a portion of said plate adjacent the opposite end thereof, when said handle is in the other of its two operating positions, said mounting means comprising releasable clamping means for fixing said handle against movement relative to said plate, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, and cooperating latching means on said plate and said handle, respectively, engageable releasably to hold said plate on said handle, when said clamping means is released, said plate and said handle being shiftable relative to each other in opposite directions selectively to effect engagement and disengagement, respectively, of said cooperating latching means when said clamping means is released, said cooperating latching means comprising a plurality of spaced pins projecting from one of the confronting surfaces on said plate and said handle respectively, the other of said confronting surfaces having therein a plurality of slots disposed to accommodate said pins, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, each of said pins having thereon an enlarged diameter head engaging opposite sides of the associated slot to hold the plate on said handle, each of said slots being enlarged at one end thereof to allow the head of said pins to pass therethrough to release said plate from the handle, when the plate and handle are shifted relative to one another in one direction, said handle having an elongate base and an integral handgrip overlying part of said base adjacent one end thereof, two of said pins projecting between said plate and said base adjacent opposite ends of the latter and engaging in two of said slots, when said handle is in either of its operating positions, said handle being reversible by withdrawing said two pins from said two slots, when the heads of said pins register with the enlarged ends of said slots, and rotating said handle 180* relative to said plate and reinserting said two pins into said two slots, and said clamping means comprising a third pin projecting between said plate and said base to engage in a third slot in said other surface, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, and to engage in a fourth slot in said other surface, when said handle is in its other operating position.
 5. A trowel, comprising a pLate having opposed side edges for spreading adhesive on a surface, a handle having an elongate base releasably and reversibly attached to said plate centrally thereof, and having a handgrip overlying part of said base adjacent one end thereof, and a plurality of pins projecting from the bottom of said base through a plurality of registering slots in said plate, each of said pins having an enlarged head spaced beneath said base and overlying marginal portions of said plate at opposite sides of the associated slot at one end thereof releasably to secure said plate in an operating position on said base, each of said slots being enlarged at its opposite end to allow the heads of said pins to be withdrawn from said slots when said plate is shifted in one direction relative to said handle, said handle being reversible 180* selectively between a first operating position in which two of said pins adjacent opposite ends, respectively, of said base engage in a pair of said slots in said plate, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, and a second operating position in which each of said two pins engages in, respectively, a different one of said pair of slots, and portions of said plate intermediate the ends of each slot of said pair being bent transverse to the plane of said plate to form, at opposite sides of each slot of said pair, resilient projections which extend into the spaces between said base and the heads of said two pins, when said handle is in one of its operating positions, thereby to resist movement of said plate relative to said handle.
 6. A trowel as defined in claim 5, wherein one of said pins comprises a screw threadable into a bore in said base of said handle releasably to secure said handle and said plate against lateral shifting movement relative to each other, when said handle is in one of its operating positions. 